According to the Associated Press, the free TV streaming service, which has more than 3 million users in about three dozen cities in the United States, was shut down after the court ruled that it violated copyright laws.
Because Locast broadcasts local TV for free, it considers it a non-profit organization and uses legal loopholes in copyright law to claim that it can broadcast ABC, CBS, National Broadcasting Corporation with Fox Don’t pay them. The owner of the country’s main broadcasting network sued Locast in 2019 for copyright infringement, demanding it be shut down.
A federal judge in New York ruled that Locast is not exempted because it makes money for users who have an ad-free experience by paying $5 a month. Those who do not pay will receive an advertisement asking for money every 15 minutes.
The judge stated that Locast was actually charging users and using the money to expand its services, which violated copyright laws.
Locast agreed to suspend its streaming services based on the judge’s ruling.Local TV on major broadcast networks can still be watched for free through different media, while specialized streaming services such as Netflix with gourd A monthly subscription is required.
For more reports from the Associated Press, please see below.
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Companies that own ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox earn billions of dollars each year from cable companies that pay to include them in their TV packages.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights organization defending Locast in court, stated that the judge “interpreted the law in an artificially narrow way” and Locast is fulfilling Congress‘The mission is to ensure that Americans can access their local radio stations.
Locast has been around for many years, but as new streaming services have attracted people’s attention, it has been ignored.
“As a non-profit organization, Locast was designed to operate strictly in accordance with the law from the beginning, but in response to the court’s recent ruling, we disagree and we hereby suspend operations with immediate effect,” the company’s news released on Thursday The manuscript said.
EFF lawyer Mitch Stoltz said that legal cases will continue, including appeals, to resolve the remaining issues. He did not specify what these problems were.
Major broadcast networks can also be obtained for free through other means, such as TV antennas, which you can buy for less than $10.
The television network’s lawyer did not immediately respond.
Disney owns ABC, Viacom CBS owns CBS, Comcast’s NBCUniversal owns NBC, and Fox owns Fox.
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